London Buses route 207
London Buses route 207 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hayes By-Pass and White City, it is operated by Metroline. History Route 207 originates from London United Tramways route 7 which ran between Uxbridge and Shepherd's Bush Green. In 1936 this route was replaced by a trolleybus route 607 which ran until 1960. Route 207 was introduced on 9 November 1960 as part of the trolleybus replacement program stage 8, replacing trolleybus route 607 between Uxbridge and Shepherd's Bush Green, using AEC Routemasters. The route was converted to crew operated Daimler Fleetlines in 1976, reverted to Routemasters in 1980 due to unreliability. One man operation followed in 1987 using MCW Metrobuses. In 1990 limited stops route 607 began, paralleling route 207 . The route, which runs along the entire length of the Uxbridge Road, was operated as two overlapping sections in the late 1990s, with a peak vehicle requirement of 35 double-deckers. The proposed West London Tram paralleled much of the 207. Brand new low floor Plaxton Presdient bodied Dennis Trident replaced the MCW Metrobuses in 2001, along with six articulated buses which were on trial on the route for six months, running between Hayes-by-Pass and Shepherd's Bush Green, from First London's Greenford garage. The trial was a success and on 9 April 2005 the route was split into two sections; the Hayes-by-Pass to Shepherd's Bush Green section retained the number 207 and was converted to single deck articlated bus operation with Mercedes-Benz O530Gs. The section between Uxbridge and Acton was renumbered 427 using Dennis Tridents. A new base opened at Hayes for the 207; the Uxbridge and Acton allocations were withdrawn. In October and November 2004 the route was found to have the highest level of police callouts of any service in London. Fare evasion following the conversion to bendy bus operation is also perceived to be a problem by local transport user group EPTUG. The route was extended from Shepherd's Bush Green to White City Bus Station when Westfield London opened in November 2008. A month earlier, passengers' organisation London TravelWatch had claimed that the route carried more passengers than any other route in Europe, although this was disputed by some commentators. In 2009 it was announced by new Mayor of London Boris Johnson that articulated buses would be replaced by the end of 2011; it was initially expected that the 207 would be converted to single-deck articulated bus operation. In February 2011, Transport for London confirmed that the route would be converted to double-deck vehicles in December 2011, and that the frequency of the route would be increased. Similar changes were planned for night bus variant N207. The proposals were criticised by local Liberal Democrat politicians for failing to increase the seating capacity of the route while increasing the number of vehicles on the Uxbridge Road. On 10 December 2011, the route was converted back to double deck operation using brand new Scania OmniCitys. It was the last bus route in London to be operated by articulated buses. On 22 June 2013, the route was included in the sale of First London's Hayes garage (HS) to Metroline. On 12 February 2017, part of the allocation was transferred to Uxbridge (UX) garage. Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs and Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s were introduced at the same time. On 8 April 2017, the Hayes (HS) allocation was transferred to Greenford (G) garage and the Scania OmniCitys were replaced by Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs. In June 2017, the Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs were replaced by brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LHs. Current route Route 207 operates via these primary locations: *Hayes By-Pass *Southall High Street *Southall Park *Ealing Hospital *Hanwell Broadway *West Ealing *Ealing Broadway *Ealing Common Station *Acton Town Hall *Acton Vale *Shepherd's Bush Market Station *Shepherd's Bush Stations *White City Bus Station External links *London Bus Routes Gallery *Full Timetable (PDF) 207, London Buses routes